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THE    HIGH    SCHOOL   FRATERNITY 


REPORT    OF    THE    COMMITTEE,     HIGH    SCHOOL    TEACHERS 

ASSOCIATION,    C.    T.    A. 

W.  J.  COOPER,  Chairman 

High  School,  Berkeley,  Cal. 


THIS   committee   was   appointed   by    President   Templeton   at   the 
meeting    December,     1911,    at    Stockton,    for    the    purpose    of 
investigating  and  making  a  report  of  the  high  school  fraternity 
situation    with    recommendations.      The    committee    consists    of    W.    J. 
Cooper,   Berkeley   High   School,   F.    H.    Clark,    Lowell   High   School, 
and  James  Ferguson,   Polytechnic  High  School  of  San   Francisco. 

After  considerable  study  of  the  literature  on  the  subject,  the 
history  of  the  agitation  and  nature  of  the  anti-fraternity  laws  existing 
in  the  various  states,  the  committee  respectfully  reports  as  follows: 

HISTORY  OF  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  FRATERNITIES 
The  High  School  Fraternity  seems  to  have  begun  in  1869  in 
Schenectady,  New  York,  with  the  organization  of  a  boys',  literary  and 
debating  club.  Since  this  club  was  composed  of  students  in  the  old 
classical  school,  later  the  Schenectady  High  School,  it  sought  a 
classical  name,  and  adopted  the  name  of  Alpha  Zeta.  The  minutes 
of  the  board  of  education  for  January,  1 870,  show  that  the  Alpha 
Zeta  Debating  Club  was  given  permission  to  hold  its  meetings  in  the 
school  building.  It  was  1 7  years  before  Alpha  Zeta  had  a  second 
chapter.  In  the  meantime  several  other  similar  organizations  had 
come  into  existence,  one  of  them  in  San  Francisco.  Alpha  Zeta  now 
has  only  8  chapters  with  a  total  membership  of  1451  in  1910,  and 
they  are  all  located  in  cities  of  the  state  of  New  York. 

When  the  anti-fraternity  agitation  became  quite  general,  there  was 
organized  in  the  United  States,  in  February,  1909,  a  grand  inter- 
fraternity  council  whose  object  (stated  in  its  constitution)  is  "To 
promote  the  usefulness  of  preparatory  and  high  school  fraternities;  to 
place  before  the  public  the  objects  of  these  organizations  and  create 
a  body  by  which  all  grievances  between  fraternities,  school  and  civil 


362017 


officials  can  be  fairly  terminated."  This  council  only  admitted  into 
its  membership  at  first  fraternities  having  more  than  5  chapters  and 
at  least  10  years  old.  In  1910  its  roster  numbered  25  fraternities 
with  a  membership  of  31,455.  Others  have  joined,  however,  and 
recent  reports  state  that  there  are  now  46  members  of  the  council. 
There  are  1  1  fraternities  (boys')  of  national  importance  in  California 
at  the  present  time  in  addition  to  many  locals.  Gamma  Eta  Kappa 
and  Phi  Chi  fraternities  originated  in  San  Francisco:  The  former  is 
one  of  the  oldest  and  strongest  fraternities  in  the  United  States.  It 
likewise  began  as  a  literary  organization  in  the  old  Boys'  High  School, 
San  Francisco,  now  the  Lowell  High  School.  The  Theta  Chi  frater- 
nity, which  has  chapters  in  all  of  the  larger  cities,  exists  only  within 
the  State  of  California.  There  are  now  one  or  more  fraternities, 
excluding  locals,  in  each  of  the  following  cities:  San  Francisco,  Oak- 
land, Berkeley,  Alameda,  San  Jose,  Santa  Cruz,  Sacramento,  Stock- 
ton, Fresno,  Los  Angeles,  San  Diego,  Santa  Barbara,  San  Rafael, 
Hollywood,  Chico,  Marysville,  Santa  Rosa,  Visalia,  Bakersfield, 
Eureka,  Riverside,  San  Bernardino,  and  the  Belmont  Private  School. 
In  the  above  we  have  dealt  only  with  fraternities,  making  no  count 
on  the  sororities,  of  which  there  are  4  of  great  importance  in  Cali- 
fornia, namely:  Alpha  Sigma,  Lambda  Theta  Phi,  Omega  Nu, 
Delta  Iota  Chi,  and  three  others  of  less  importance. 
ANTI-FRATERNITY  AGITATION 

The  growth  of  fraternities  had  been  very  slow  during  the  years 
immediately  following  the  founding  of  the  first  4  or  5.  During  the 
second  decade  of  their  existence,  from  1880-90,  their  growth  was 
fairly  steady.  The  third  decade,  from  1890-1900,  witnessed  quite 
a  rapid  spread  of  the  fraternity  idea,  not  only  in  the  extension  of  the 
older  societies,  but  in  the  formation  of  new  organizations.  The  early 
part  of  the  fourth  decade  beginning  1900  saw  the  creation  of  a  great 
many  new  societies. 

The  two  great  centers  of  fraternity  life  were  the  schools  of  New 
York  City  and  those  in  and  about  Chicago.  A  third  important  center 
was  the  schools  of  the  San  Francisco  Bay  Region,  and  in  the  early 
part  of  the  decade  beginning  1 900  there  was  a  marked  tendency  on 
the  part  of  the  eastern  fraternities  to  establish  a  chain  of  chapters  on 
the  Pacific  Coast. 


By  some  of  the  practices  of  some  chapters  the  fraternities  began  to 
make  themselves  obnoxious,  especially  in  the  schools  of  Chicago,  and 
a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  late  President  Harper  of  the 
University  of  Chicago.  This  committee,  headed  by  Spencer  R.  Smith 
of  the  Wendell  Phillips  High  School,  Chicago,  sent  18  questions  to 
464  of  the  largest  secondary  schools  in  the  United  States.  Three 
hundred  and  six  schools  replied,  of  which  120  had  fraternities,  from 
1  to  6  in  number,  and  many  had  a  sorority.  In  this  latter  respect  the 
Girls'  High  School  of  San  Francisco  was  in  the  lead  with  7  sororities. 

The  publication  of  this  report  led  to  a  period  of  writing  on  the 
subject.  Articles  ranged  all  the  way  from  thoughtful  expressions  to 
highly  sensational  articles  with  cartoons.  The  great  mass  of  articles 
emphasized  the  bad  points  of  secret  societies  and  urged  their  abolition, 
which  brought  on  legislation  in  many  states.  The  following  argu- 
ments were  advanced  during  this  period  of  agitation: 

In  favor  of  the  societies:  1.  They  are  useful  in  the  development 
of  school  spirit  and  aid  in  the  discipline  of  the  school.  2.  They  are 
beneficial  to  individual  membership.  Cases  are  cited  to  establish  this. 
3.  They  foster  friendship  at  the  period  in  life  when  permanent  friend- 
ships are  made.  4.  The  tendency  to  organize  is  a  modern  and  nat- 
ural one,  and  organizations  will  exist  secretly  if  not  openly.  5.  The 
conduct  of  the  pupils  is  a  matter  for  regulation  by  parents  rather  than 
by  school  boards. 

The   jist  of   the   arguments   against  the   fraternities   is: 

1 .  They    are    detrimental    to    the    regular    work    of    the    school, 
causing,  through  petty  jealousy,  a  break  up  of  regular  societies  of  the 
schools,    and    as    literary    and    debating    societies,    and    form    narrow 
cliques. 

2.  They  are  imitations  of  college  fraternities,  whose  main  reason 
for  existence  is  to  furnish  home  life  for  the  student.   The  high  school 
fraternity    not   only   does   not   furnish   home   life,    but   rather    tends   to 
break  it  up. 

3.  They  are  detrimental  to  the  pupil  himself  in  that  they  waste 
his  time,  cause  his  interest  in  the  school  to  take  second  place  or  entirely 
wane,   and   force  him  to   form   a   narrow   group   of   friendships   at   the 
time  when  he  should  be  reaching  out  and  selecting  his  friends  from  as 
wide  a  circle  as  possible. 


4.  They  are  selfish  and  undemocratic.  "The  secret  society  in 
the  school  life  of  the  individual  is  an  expression  of  aristocratic  idea," 
and  since  democracy  finds  its  fullest  expression  in  the  public  school 
these  societies  can  not  be  justified,  "upon  the  broad  grounds  of  the 
largest  democracy." 

ANTI-FRATERNITY    LAWS 

In  1907  laws  were  passed  by  Indiana,  Kansas  and  Minnesota, 
and  regulations  were  adopted  by  the  city  of  Madison,  Wisconsin. 
In  1908  came  the  anti-fraternity  law  in  Ohio,  and  prohibitory  regula- 
tions by  school  boards  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  St.  Joseph,  Mo. 

In  1909  California,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Oregon,  Vermont  and 
Washington  passed  laws  against  secret  societies,  while  school  boards 
of  Lowell,  Mass.,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  and  Oklahoma  City  passed 
prohibitory  regulations.  1910  seems  to  have  witnessed  the  enactment  of 
no  state  laws,  but  the  following  cities  adopted  their  own  regulations: 
Denver,  Meriden,  Conn.,  Chicago,  New  Orleans,  Butte,  Mont.,  and 
Racine,  Wisconsin.  In  1911  came  the  anti-fraternity  law  of  Mich- 
igan, and  school  board  regulations  in  the  cities  of  Covington,  Ken- 
tucky, Waltham,  Mass.,  Reading,  Penn.,  Milwaukee,  and  Superior, 
Wisconsin.  In  1912  came  the  anti-fraternity  law  of  Mississippi. 

All  of  these  laws  aim  to  make  it  possible  for  boards  of  educa- 
tion to  control  the  situation.  They  may  be  divided,  however,  into 
general  classes  as  follows:  1.  Laws  similar  to  those  of  California 
and  Indiana  which  definitely  state  that  school  boards  are  required  to 
enforce  the  provisions  of  the  act.  2.  These  laws  of  which  the 
Minnesota  act  is  a  good  example,  which  excepts  "such  societies  or 
organizations  as  are.  sanctioned  by  directors  of  said  school."  These 
acts  give  the  school  board  full  authority  in  cases  where  they  wish  to 
use  it  to  make  possible  the  regulating  rather  than  extermination  of 
certain  societies.  The  penalty  attached  for  the  pupil  who  disregards 
the  law  ranges  all  the  way  from  the  denying  of  privileges  to  suspension 
or  expulsion.  The  Minnesota  law,  which  was  enacted  two  years  later 
in  Iowa,  also  provides  a  penalty  for  "rushing"  students  in  the  high 
schools. 


THE    ENFORCEMENT    OF    THE    LAW 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  one  of  the  first  state  laws  was  that  of 
Indiana,  it  is  quoted  in  full: 

"The  common  schools  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  both  elementary 
and  high  schools,  shall  be  open  to  all  children  until  they  complete  the 
courses  of  study  in  said  common  schools,  subject  to  the  authority  of 
the  teachers  therein  and  to  all  the  rules  and  regulations  provided  by  the 
proper  authorities  for  the  government  of  such  schools.  It  shall  be 
unlawful  for  the  pupils  in  any  of  the  elementary  or  high  schools  of  this 
state  to  form  secret  societies,  fraternities  or  other  similar  organizations, 
in  such  schools;  and  the  board  of  school  commissioners  or  board  of 
trustees  of  any  school,  town,  or  city,  and  the  trustee  of  any  school 
township,  and  the  superintendent  of  any  school,  are  hereby  required 
to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  act  by  suspending,  or,  if  necessary, 
expelling  a  pupil  in  any  elementary  or  high  school  who  refuses  or 
neglects  to  obey  such  rules  or  regulations  or  any  of  them." 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  note  how  this  law  effects  the  strongest 
Indiana  fraternity  which  established  its  second  chapter  as  late  at  1901, 
and  now  numbers  20  chapters,  1 6  of  which  are  within  the  State  of 
Indiana,  and  at  least  5  of  which  have  been  established  in  that  state 
since  the  passage  of  the  act  referred  to.  The  chapter  at  Sheridan 
reports  as  follows: 

"We  have  had  no  school  opposition  for  we  have  been  very  care- 
ful and  have  not  violated  any  of  the  laws  of  our  school,  and  in  this 
way  we  have  grown  more  popular  with  the  authorities  and  the  people 
in  general  in  the  community."  The  chapter  at  Brazil  reports  that 
every  Wednesday  night  they  have  some  prominent  citizen  to  give  them 
a  talk,  and  that  they  receive  favorable  comment  from  two  leading 
newspapers.  The  chapter  at  Richmond,  however,  reports  as  a  con- 
sequence of  opposition,  the  active  alumni  members  of  the  chapter  were 
compelled  to  carry  on  the  work  and  affairs  of  the  chapter  without  any 
assistance  from  the  high  school  members.  The  chapter  at  Bloom- 
ington  reports  that  it  has  no  opposition  from  the  school  authorities. 
"The  members  try  to  conduct  themselves  so  as  to  avoid  the  criticism 
of  the  faculty."  As  these  reports  are  all  from  chapters  of  the  same 
fraternity,  and  of  chapters  that  have  been  established  since  the  passage 
of  the  Indiana  law  it  shows  how  unevenly  the  law  is  enforced  in  that 
state. 


The  California  law  reads  as  follows: 

1 .  From  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  it  shall  be  unlawful 
for  any  pupil,  enrolled  as  such  in  any  elementary  or  secondary  school 
of  this  state,  to  join  or  become  a  member  of  any  secret  fraternity, 
sorority  or  club,  wholly  or  partly  formed  from  the  membership  of 
pupils  attending  such  public  schools,  or  to  take  part  in  the  organization 
or  formation  of  any  such  fraternity,  sorority  or  secret  club;  provided, 
that  nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  any  one  sub- 
ject to  the  provisions  of  the  section  from  joining  the  order  of  the 
Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  Native  Daughters  of  the  Golden 
West,  Foresters  of  America  or  other  kindred  organizations  not  directly 
associated  with  the  public  schools  of  the  state. 

2.  Boards  of  school  trustees,  and  boards  of  education  shall  have 
full  power  and  authority  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  to 
make  and  enforce  all  rules  and  regulations  needful  for  the  government 
and  discipline  of  the  schools  under  their  charge.  They  are  hereby 
required  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  act  by  suspending,  or,  if 
necessary,  expelling  a  pupil  in  any  elementary  or  secondary  school  who 
refuses  or  neglects  to  obey  any  or  all  such  rules  and  regulations. 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  FRATERNITIES'  SIDE  OF  THE  QUESTION 
The  fraternity  journals  are  full  of  such  headings  as  the  following: 
"Convicted  Without  a  Trial,"  in  the  Gamma  Eta  Kappa;  "Why 
Should  the  Fraternity  Be  the  Scapegoat,"  in  the  Kappa  Phi.  An 
article  in  one  of  these  magazines  was  in  two  shades  of  type.  Upon 
rearching  for  the  reason  for  this  the  following  expression  was  found: 
'The  article  as  it  appears  herewith  was  prepared  by  the  editor  for 
une  of  the  San  Francisco  Yellow  Journals  on  the  Fraternities'  side  of 
I  he  Question,  .  .  .  Though  the  city  editor  and  reporter  promised 
on  their  honor  to  run  the  article  as  written  that  part  in  the  bold  type 
was  omitted.  This  was  reprinted  to  show  how  the  press  treats  the 
fraternity." 

As  the  chairman  of  the  committee  has  been  particularly  impressed 
with  the  sincerity  of  the  tone  of  these  complaints  it  has  been  deemed 
wise  to  incorporate  a  brief  summary  of  the  fraternity's  side  of  the 
case  into  this  report. 

THE    FRATERNITIES    CLAIM 

I.  The  argument  against  them  have  not  been  proven.  ( 1  )  The 
scholarship  argument  is  based  on  few  facts  and  general  impressions. 


They  quote  in  their  magazines  statistics  of  good  chapters  as  Alpha, 
)i  Gamma,  Eta  Kappa,  which  boast  that  91.3%  of  members  grad- 
jated  from  high  school,  67.5%  of  members  entered  college,  and 
48.2%  of  members  graduated  from  college.  (2)  Snobbishness  exists 
3nly  in  a  few  cases,  and  should  be  punished  where  it  exists  by  frater- 
nity and  school  together.  (3)  They  help  school  spirit  by  urging  their 
men  to  enter  school  activities  and  succeed.  (4)  It  is  not  undemo- 
cratic to  choose  the  friends  with  whom  you  care  to  be  thrown 
especially  out  of  school  hours. 

II.  There  is  a  tendency  to  band  together.     To  quote  the  heading 
of  another  article  it   is   "The   Fraternity  Gang  vs.   the  Street  Gang," 
with  all  the  argument  in  favor  of  "The  Fraternity  and  a  little  bad  with 
a  deal  of  good,  or  the  Street  Gang,   all  bad   and  no  good." 

III.  The  boys  go  bad  not  because  of  their  fraternity  obligations, 
but  in  spite  of  them.     We  find  this  plea  in  the  Kappa  Chi  Quarterly: 
"Wouldn't  it  be  better  then,   instead  of  abolishing  us  and  our  ideals, 
that  you  join  with  us  and  help  us  impress  upon  our  members  the  neces- 
sity of  heeding  their  obligations?     This  can  easily  be  accomplished  by 
recognizing  us,  and  thereby  affording  us  a  means  of  inflicting  a  penalty 
upon  members  who  break   their  obligations." 

IV.  Most  of  the  evils  are  present  in  "Locals"   and  "Near  Fra- 
ternity"  clubs.      Prohibitory  legislation  works  greatest  hardship  on  the 
national   fraternity  which  has  ideals   and  strives   to  realize   them. 

POLICIES  OF  DEALING  WITH  THE  FRATERNITY  QUESTION 
We  may   now  briefly   review   the   various   policies   that   have   been 
pursued  in  dealing  with  this  matter. 

I.  The    let    alone    policy.       The    growth    of    the    anti-fraternity 
agitation  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  this  policy  will  not  do,  as  too  many 
evils  are  found  to  exist  with  high  school   fraternities. 

II.  Policy    of    Substitution.       ( 1 )      Literary,    debating,    musical, 
athletic,  and  other  clubs  in  the  school.     The  principals  who  tried  this 
found  that  it  only  made  more  places  of  honor  for  fraternity  members 
to  hold,   and  the  fraternity  continued.      This  was  because  these  clubs 
did  not  have  the  "gang"  spirit  of  the  social  side.      (2)     Social  clubs. 
These  were  tried  in  Berkeley  with  faculty  members,  but  were  used  as 
"first  degree"  work   for   the   fraternity  for  the  most  part.      The  main 
trouble  was  that  the  fraternity  still  existed  as  an  outlaw. 


III.  The  policy  of  prohibition.  This  has  been  tried  now  for  5 
years  in  some  States.  The  Indiana  situation  has  been  already  dis- 
cussed. It  has  been  tried  in  California  for  3  years — long  enough  for 
every  member  of  a  Greek  letter  society  to  have  graduated  from  the 
high  school.  We  may  therefore  discuss 

PRESENT  CONDITIONS   IN   CALIFORNIA 

The  committee  believes  that  it  has  sufficient  evidence  to  justify  it 
in  the  following  conclusions: 

'.  ^raternities  exist  now  in  at  least  8  more  cities  of  California 
thsji  in  .909. 

2.  The  sub  rosa  condition  is  worse  for  the  boys,  the  school  and 
the  home  than  an  open  and  above  board  policy. 

3.  The  fraternities  that  have  ceased  initiating  high  school  pupils 
are  the  ones  that  have  the  highest  ideals  and  the  fraternities  that  have 
no   respect  for  law  now  flourish.      In  this   connection  we   quote   from 
the  monthly  of  a  middle  western   fraternity  which,  by   the   way,    has 
not  been  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Grand  Inter-Fraternity  Council: 
"But  five  years  ago,  with  one  chapter  and  a  membership  of  25,  has 
grown  to  the  extent  of  39  chapters  on  the  roll  and  a  membership  of 
800."     (January,  1912.) 

4.  The   national   organizations   that   have   strong   alumni   councils 
to  enforce  their  principles  and  tend  to  work  in  the  open  are  discrim- 
inated against  in  favor  of  the  many  sub  rosa  locals.     In  this  connection 
in  the  report  of  the  installation  of  a  new  chapter  in  Los  Angeles  of 
one  of  the  national   fraternities.  April   26,    1912,   we   find   that  these 
boys  had  been  operating  in  Los  Angeles  High  for  many  years   as   a 
local,    and   "more  than  held  their   own  with   the   foremost  nationals," 
and  proceeds  to  name  a  list  of  the  highest  school  offices  held  by  these 
boys.      In  an  article  advocating  the  expansion  of   a   certain   fraternity 
we  find  the  following  from  the  pen  of  an  ex-national  president:    "I  have 
traveled  considerably  over  the  Southern  States  in   the  past  two  years 
and  in  nearly  every  town  of  3,000  inhabitants  and  up  I  find  a  bunch 
of  the  best  fellows  associated  together  as  a  club  or  local  frat." 

5.  In  many   places   the   school   authorities   do   not  believe   in   the 
present  law  or  are  openly  in  sympathy  with  the  fraternities.     A  man 


who  ranks  high  in  school  administration  in  California  is  quoted  in  one 
of  the  fraternities'  journals  as  follows: 

"The  law  which  denies  a  high  school  education  to  the  youth  who 
desires  to  join,  with  the  consent  of  his  parents,  a  high  school  frater- 
ity,  is  a  travesty  on  justice,  because  it  is  prohibitive  legislation,  not 
directed  to  the  equal  protection  of  the  individual's  right  to  life,  prop- 
erty, liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  but  to  the  gratification  of 
somebody's  ignorant  or  bigoted  prejudice." 

A  chapter  of  one  of  the  nationals  in  one  of  our  largest  cities 
reports  to  headquarters  as  follows:  "Some  of  the  authorities  deep 
down  favor  our  existence." 

6.  The  Grand  Inter-Fraternity  Council  of  the  United  States 
offers  a  chance  for  co-operation  between  fraternities  and  school  people 
to  remove  the  more  serious  evils  of  the  fraternities.  The  recommenda- 
tions of  this  council  are  as  follows: 

1 .  Public  and  abusive  initiations  be  abolished.  2.  The  consent  of 
parents  or  guardian  be  obtained  before  initiation.  3.  Pupils  be  initiated 
only  after  the  satisfactory  completion  of  the  first  or  freshman  year  at  a 
high  or  preparatory  school,  and  that  the  pledging  of  pupils  in  the  grade 
or  grammar  schools  be  prohibited.  4.  No  fraternity  shall  initiate  as 
a  member  anyone  who  has  been  a  member  of  another  school  fraternity, 
without  the  consent  of  the  fraternity  of  which  he  was  a  member. 
5.  No  intoxicating  liquors  be  served  at  any  function  of  a  fraternity;  that 
none  be  allowed  in  the  rooms  at  any  time,  and  that  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors  by  active  members  (those  still  attending  school)  shall  be 
forbidden.  6.  The  formal  social  functions  of  a  fraternity  chapter  shall 
be  limited  to  one  formal  dance  and  one  formal  banquet  each  year  and 
that  the  amount  to  be  spent  on  these  functions  shall  be  limited  by 
agreement  among  the  chapters  of  the  council  fraternities  in  each  city. 
7.  Every  effort  shall  be  made  to  reduce  the  running  expenses  of  the 
chapter.  8.  Rooms  shall  not  be  mantained  by  any  chapter  except 
under  supervision  of  the  fraternity  alumni  or  the  school  faculty.  9.  Lit- 
erary exercises,  reviews  of  books,  essays,  debates,  and  talks  by  promi- 
nent men  be  held  in  conjunction  with  regular  chapter  meetings.  10. 
When  rooms  are  maintained,  school  officers  and  parents  shall  be 
allowed  access  to  them  at  all  times  except  during  meetings.  1  1 .  When 
occasion  warrants,  arrangements  shall  be  made  to  admit  proper  school 


officials  to  meetings  and  initiations.  1 2.  That  fraternity  meetings  be 
adjourned  not  later  than  1  1  p.  m.  13.  Members  shall  be  prohibited 
from  holding  offices  in  the  fraternities  or  chapter  whose  school  standing 
is  below  the  requirements  of  the  school.  1  4.  That  all  affiliated  frater- 
nities adopt  and  enforce  strict  scholarship  requirements  and  reports  in 
their  chapters  and  work  toward  maintaining  high  scholastic  standing. 
15.  That  the  use  of  the  abbreviation  or  the  term  "Frat"  be  abolished. 
1  6.  Members  shall  be  expelled  for  improper  conduct  rather  than  their 
acts  be  endorsed  at  a  sacrifice  to  the  chapter,  the  fraternity  and  the 
school  fraternity  system.  1  7.  That  secrecy  be  abolished  except  as  to 
pass  words,  grip,  and  ritual,  as  these  are  all  that  are  essential,  and  to 
enforce  secrecy  in  other  directions  often  prevents  a  proper  defence  from 
unjust  criticism.  1  8  and  1  9.  Regarding  arrangements  and  carrying  out 
these  plans. 

7.  The  present  law  is  poorly  drawn,   in   fact  there  is  reason   to 
suppose  it  was  given  its  present  form  in  the  belief  that  it  would  be  held 
unconstitutional.     Judge  Hunt  in  the  Manly  case  said:    "I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  the  anti-fraternity  law  was  poorly  drawn,   as  it  does  not 
state  exactly  what   the   law   was   enacted   to   effect."      Judge   Seawall 
in  the  Bradford  case  remarked  that  the  law  was  constitutional,  but  that 
there  were  flaws  which  the  legislature  should  amend. 

8.  Many  eastern  fraternities  are  discussing  a  policy  of  expansion 
and  the  Fair  of   1915  will  bring  many  members  west  and  lead  to  the 
establishment  of  many  locals  into  national  chapters. 

"Naturally  any  member  of  the  — v —    -  fraternity  having  lived  in 
the"  far  West  would  like  to  see  a  chapter  of  the  dear  old  frat  organized 
in  the  city  in  which  he  resides.     The  chances  of  organizing  - 
in  the  West  are  excellent,  mainly  because  of  the  fact  that  there  is  no 
high  school  fraternity  in  this  part  of  the  United  States  as   strong  as 

"Many will  come  west  to  the  World's  Fair  at  San  Francisco 

in  1915,  and  while  in  this  section  will  stop  off  at  principal  cities. 
Why  not  make  plans  now  and  organize  chapters  at  that  itme?" 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Your  committee  respectfully   recommends: 

1.      That  this  association  go  on  record  as  favoring  the  repeal  of 
the  present  anti-fraternity  statute. 


2.  That  this  association  go  on  record  as  favoring  a  law  that  will 
be  most  carefully  drawn  up  to  give  school  boards  full  power  to  legis- 
late against  fraternities  where  they  feel  these  societies  are  a  detriment, 
but  will  also  allow  school  boards   (if  they  see  fit)   to  try  a  policy  of 
regulation. 

3.  That  this   association   have   a   standing  committee  of  three  on 
fraternities,    ( 1 )    to   report   at  each   meeting   until  otherwise   instructed, 
(2)   to  co-operate  with  the  California  Council  of  Education  and  others 
interested  in  progressive  legislation  on  the  secret  societies  in  schools. 

4.  That    the   California    Council    of   Education    be    requested    to 
appoint  a  committee  to  help  direct  the  legislature  on  this  matter. 

5.  That    this    committee    study    the    merits    and    demerits    of    the 
statute  now  in  force  in  Minnesota  and  Iowa. 


Reprinted  from  the 

SIERRA  EDUCATIONAL  NEWS 

728  Mission  Street    -    San  Francisco,  California 


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